Singaporean Sasha Selvarajoo (above), who is better known as actress Ranjini in show business, with actor Mohan in Paru Paru Pattanam Paru (1986) and with actor Karthik Muthuraman in Kalyana Raasi (1990). -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF SASHA SELVARAJOO

By Boon Chan Media Correspondent

Singaporean actress Sasha Selvarajoo is a major movie star many of her countrymen probably do not know about.

Known by her performing name Ranjini, she was one of the shining stars of Malayalam and Tamil cinema from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.

Her debut feature Muthal Mariyathai (1985) was a critically acclaimed and award-winning film by Tamil film-maker P. Bharathiraja, while her screwball comedy Chitram (1988) is reportedly one of the highest-grossing movies in Malayalam cinema of all time.

After a break of 23 years for studies and family, Selvarajoo, 43, finally made her big-screen comeback this year with action comedy Ring Master and mystery thriller Koothara.